Storm Center Update- Wednesday PM, February 21st

Jay Trobec reports:

We started the day with very cold temperatures across KELOLAND. Sioux Falls had a morning low of -8, but much of northern and western South Dakota was in the teens – or even the 20s – below zero. Like yesterday, Rapid City set a record low when it bottomed out at -18.

Today has been sunny but cold, with arctic air, light winds, and fresh snow combining to hold daytime temps to the single digits in western South Dakota and the teens in the east.

Tonight will not be as cold thanks to a light south breeze and clouds streaming into KELOLAND from the south and west. Lows will be in the single digits in SE KELOLAND while the rest of the region will be below zero.

Tomorrow we will see a broad area of light snow coming in from the south. It will be light, but will persist much of the day so we are expecting a general swath of 1-3” across central and eastern KELOLAND. As we were saying yesterday, snowfall amounts could be slightly higher in the NE corner of South Dakota and along the Buffalo Ridge in SW Minnesota. There is also a threat for some freezing drizzle in NW Iowa, where cloud temperatures will be slightly warmer. Tomorrow’s afternoon highs will be in the low to mid 20s, while Rapid City will be partly cloudy with a high of 18. Winds will be gentle, from the SE at 5-15 mph.

Snow should end tomorrow night so Friday will be partly cloudy with a light westerly breeze. Temperatures will continue cooler than normal, with the upper teens West River to the low to mid 20s East River.

Temperatures should warm a bit for the weekend, but we’ll have another shot at snow on Saturday. This one comes from a low pressure system that will move from the SW to the NE through SE KELOLAND. The greatest impact will be in SE KELOLAND, with lesser amounts to the north and west. Skies should clear for a mostly sunny Sunday. Highs both days this weekend will be in the upper 20s to around 30 degrees.

Sioux Falls and SE KELOLAND may get clipped by another round of light snow on Monday. The rest of the area should see sunshine. Monday’s highs will be in the upper 20s… though Rapid City should see sunny 30s.

We’ll get a break from clouds and snow on Tuesday, and temperatures will warm to near-normal, in the upper 20s to low 30s. We’ll have another chance of snow across KELOLAND on Wednesday, the final day of February. The extended computer models suggest temperatures will be slightly cooler than normal for the first few days of March through the first weekend of the new month.